Why am I disenchanted with Religion??

Before all my previous comments were eradicated, there was one particular comment which I particularly wanted to respond to:

"Re religion: what religions did you try and how did they disenchant you? I
think you have to be born into a religion to find it even remotely worthwhile.
From a non-religious perspective, all religions are absurd. Come to think of it,
that goes for therapists too...Cheers,Tiger"

I was actually raised as a Christian. My Mom's side of the family were Seventh Day Adventist. My Dad's side of the family were mainly Pentecostal. However, I usually ended up going to church on a Saturday. My experience with Christianity is similar to many folks I've met, who grew up in a Christian household. As a child, I simply had a blind belief. I was told that Christianity was right, and everybody was wrong. Those who believed, would make it to the promised land. Those who didn't believe would burn in hell forever! It wasn't till my latter teenage years that I started to question my beliefs, as did a lot of my peers whom I grew up with in the church. We all strayed from church at some point or another. Many eventually returned, but for others, like myself, that faith was never re-discovered.

So what happened to me? How did I miss the bus back? (Probably cause I was moving on black time, that's another matter entirely) The question that always burned in the back of my mind, was:

"If I was born into an Hindu family, for example, and raised in Hinduism with the
same blind faith that I had in Christianity, would my soul burn in hell forever,
merely because my gene pool placed me in the wrong religion?"

So I tried to imagine myself as an adult without a religious background, but who was interested in finding a spiritual faith. Where do you start? Christianity alone has over 26,000 denominations. With each religion claiming to be "The ONE", how do you choose? Bearing in mind that the wrong choice will ultimately lead to your eternal doom (obviously). I've questioned almost every religious person I know about their belief, and noticed that they tend to fall into 3 catergories:

1. They were raised in their particular faith and have held on to it blindly from the beginning, never straying from the pack.
2. They hold many doubts and questions about their faith, however they stick to the pack. For some it's been part of there culture and way of life for so long, they are happy to carry on regardless of their doubts. Some fear the retribution they may face from family and friends. Others appear to be waiting for some form of divine intervention that will answer their questions and solidify their faith.
3. They claim to have had a divine experience which proved to them, beyond all doubt, that their faith was not misguided.

I must admit, I've been part of the second group for years. Despite all my skepticism regarding the faith, I've always loved the social aspect of church. I love the way it unites people, creating an extended family. But that doesn't change the fact that I have several questions about Christianity that no-one in the church as been prepared to address(at least not to me). For example:

• In today's modern society, with people marrying much later in life, on average, than before, is it still a realistic objective for the church to advocate celibacy before marriage?
• Where does the line between culture and faith lie, and who decides where it lies? (For example, a couple of centuries ago pipe-organs were deemed to be instruments of the devil. Now you'll find a pipe-organ in a large proportion of churches)
• And what about those darn dinosaurs?? (Not that I'm a fan of Darwinians, however, at least they attempt to explain it, as opposed to sweeping it aside)

So where does that leave me? I am yet to witness my divine experience and I don't feel compelled to wait around for it. The more research I do, the more I keep asking myself:

"Was man made in God's image? Or was God made in man's image?"

The latter seems to hold more weighting with me at the moment, which would make me some form of atheist, by philosophical standards. However I refuse to believe that humans are the most advanced form of life in this universe. I always liken the human race to an ant colony in a forest. To an ant, that forest is its universe. There are things outside that universe that that ant will never comprehend (try explaining to an ant how the mechanics of the solar system affect the weather in the forest). And in much the same way, there are many things that happen in our universe, that we as humans will simply never comprehend.

Does this mean that I'm doomed? Who knows!?!? Time will tell. I still pray every so often (usually when I'm caught between a rock and a hard place). And every now and then I witness a co-incidence that would seem to indicate a greater force at work. Maybe I've had my divine experience and I just don't know it yet...........